Rise of the Necromancer (Rediscovered)

Jesse Young (Romantiscience)

<b>RELEASE NOTES:</b> Thanks for taking an interest in this (until recently) forgotten text adventure from the 80s. Before you get stuck into the game itself, a little backstory on this curio is probably in order. Rise of the Necromancer came into my possession about a year ago through a yard sale in the Boston suburbs. At the time I was teaching at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – well-known to be the birthplace Infocom, and by extension the heartland of the original interactive fiction/text adventure scene. Rummaging through peoples' gaudy bric-a-brac, rickety furniture and the accumulated detritus of a life of bad fashion choices, I chanced upon a table far off to the side and hidden deep within the cave of their carport. Laid out in front of me was a veritable treasure trove of classic text adventures.

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All the usual Infocom suspects were there as well as a number of more obscure titles. One title in particular caught my attention as I had never heard of it, though I considered myself well-versed in these matters. 'Rise of the Necromancer' – it certainly seemed to a professional production, the box-art was magnificent, its construction sturdy and detailed with inserts and even some feelies. Inquiries to the seller yielded no further information, apart from the vague recollection that they had seen it advertised on a BBS (bulletin board system) and then mail-ordered it sometime in the mid-late 80s. After returning home to Australia I did some sleuthing online and put the word out to some video-game historian friends of mine. Our combined efforts gleaned little more than a few scattered references.